Doctor who linked vaccines, autism acted unethically

Dr. Andrew Wakefield, the investigator whose research sparked fears of a link between autism and the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, was rebuked on ethical grounds in a British medical regulator’s report released in late January.

The General Medical Council said Dr. Wakefield acted “with callous disregard for the distress and pain” that children would experience after being subjected to blood draws, lumbar punctures and other tests that were clinically unnecessary and not approved by his hospital’s ethics committee.